"NOT A LABOUR DAY" - North American Beaver

While sitting along the Bow River, Calgary, Alberta, caught this creature out of the corner of my eye, swimming up the river. Over the course of over an hour, it would swim up against the current, dive into the rapids and then ride the current downriver, only to repeat it three times while I was watching.

If it was trying to navigate the river, it could easily have gotten out and walked along the shallows.

A fisherman once told me that they had observed a similar behaviour with a beaver diving into the swell of the river, allowing itself to be spun around, only to get out and do it several more times. Again, it could easily have navigated the river by cruising along the shoreline. 

Nature's own amusement ride for beavers. It appears "beavers just want to have fun too" and it's not all work and no play.